Never let it be said that MMA fans are not fickle.
It is just over thirteen months ago since Abu Dhabi boomed to the sound of fans desperately pleading with Georges St. Pierre to face the increasingly erratic middleweight champion. Several months later plenty of armchair experts couldn’t wait to opine that Silva’s lack of takedown defense would render him a sitting duck to the best wrestler in the entire sport.
And then everything changed again.
Anderson Silva landed a devastating front kick to the face of Vitor Belfort, a transcendental strike that completely caught his challenger cold. All of a sudden Silva was once again the lethal striker that had destroyed Chris Leben, Rich Franklin (twice), Nate Marquardt, James Irvin and Forrest Griffin. And after Georges St. Pierre disappointed many while standing against Jake Shields many rushed to declare that the Canadian couldn’t hope to survive against such a supreme striker. The truth of course was something between the two extreme, irrational reactions that were made as kneejerk responses to disappointing performances from dominant champions struggling with injuries.
The fact remains that the two men stand apart from the chasing pack in the pound for pound stakes. Since they both won their first UFC World Titles a month apart in the winter of 2006, they have been the measuring stick in each of their divisions and ultimately the entire sport. They have won eighteen UFC title matches between them, both recording an unprecedented nine title defenses. What’s more their fighting styles and personalities are a perfect study in contrasts. As I wrote back in April 2010:
The respectful if slightly cautious George St. Pierre would be the overwhelming fan-favorite against the erratic Anderson Silva, whose public persona is now a demented combination of Muhammad Ali and Floyd Mayweather Jr. at their most infuriating. The striking of Silva would test the suspect chin of St. Pierre while the wrestling and grappling of St. Pierre would expose any deficiencies in Silva’s ground game. St. Pierre would have to overcome the challenge of defeating a much larger man while Silva’s increasingly questionable cardio would be tested by the best conditioned athlete in all of mixed martial arts. The fight really is the UFC’s equivalent of Mayweather-Pacquiao, with the pound-for-pound kings both having strengths that go right to the jugular of their opponent’s weaknesses.
I would only add two things. Firstly, St. Pierre’s past two title defenses have once again showed his superior ability to set out and stick to a gameplan, a steely discipline that could give him the mental strength to force errors from the more instinctive Anderson Silva. Secondly Silva showed against Sonnen an all-round game off his back that is the best in MMA with his uniquely powerful and relentless ground striking creating the space to quickly apply lethal submissions. Both mean that even if the fight goes away from either champion’s comfort zone it would still be competitive.
That is certainly not the case with Nick Diaz, despite many clamouring for the Strikeforce Champion to unify his belt with St. Pierre’s. Diaz’s striking has improved more in its entertainment value than its effectiveness, with him being frequently dropped and his only recent knock out in the Strikeforce cage being the TKO on Paul Daley after the British striker’s knee gave way after a helaicous brawl. And he is still unproven off his back, with Diaz having noticeably failed to face a ranked American wrestler since his decision loss to Sean Sherk in 2006. His lack of success with takedowns, the fact that strikers such as Daley and Cyborg Santos were able to take him down and the continuing travails of younger brother Nate against wrestlers suggests that St. Pierre could take him down and shut his grappling down. The fact that the UFC allow elbows on the ground would only magnify St. Pierre’s advantage on the ground, denying Diaz the space to go for submissions and giving the Canadian the best weapon to punish a Diaz that has previously been shown to cut easily. The brutal fact is that Nick Diaz is no more a threat to St. Pierre than WEC Champion Carlos Condit was in 2009.
Georges St. Pierre should ignore those who after Silva’s quick knockout of an overhyped Vitor Belfort and his own troubled display against Shields who argue for him to stay within his comfort zone at 170Ibs. No one can dispute that welterweight is optimum fighting weight but all dominant champions eventually have to push themselves by moving up in weight. Boxing greats including most recently Manny Pacquiao have been defined by their willingness to challenge bigger men. The fact that he will be giving up size against most of his opponents is precisely the reason for him to make the move up. Usually both bigger and quicker than his recent challengers, St. Pierre has been stuck in a comfortable groove against challengers unable to compete let alone threaten. Not only Anderson Silva but the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Michael Bisping, Chael Sonnen and Mayhem Miller would pose the type of threat that would force Georges St. Pierre out of his shell and back to his fighting best. To secure his legacy St. Pierre must be challenged and only Anderson Silva and the wider middleweight division can do that.
